Trespass in Fuchsia

The gate rebounded off the concrete post with a second dull clank.

Rubber soles slapped against the patio flags, fast and loud. A figure rounded the boxwood hedge, bringing a clash of orange and fuchsia silk that cut through the gray stone and green water.

Karen Whitmore did not pause to shut the latch behind her. She possessed an HOA master key to the perimeter gates, held on a brass ring looped over her wrist. She did not glance toward the sliding doors of the house, nor did she check the breezeway windows to see if anyone watched from inside. Her chin stayed high, her blonde bob stiff with hairspray under the two o’clock sun. Under her left arm rested an aluminum clipboard, its spring clip loaded with white forms.

Alicia stayed flat on the lounger. The afternoon heat pressed down on her bare shoulders, but she did not shift her legs or lower her chin. She watched the woman advance across twenty feet of open patio.

Karen’s white trousers swished with each rapid stride. Her flat sandals struck the flags with hard, dry snaps. She did not slow her pace until she stood four feet from the edge of the lounger, planting her heels just short of the damp ring left by the skimmer basket.

The floral silk of her blouse rippled in the light breeze. Her pale eyes scanned Alicia from bare feet to the dark lenses of her glasses, tight with disgust. She brought the metal board around to her chest and thumbed the spring latch twice.

The sharp snap echoed over the water. The chlorine smell rose between them, clean and sharp against the dry bake of the patio. Alicia kept her hands resting flat against her ribs. She did not reach for her towel.

Karen leaned forward from the waist, cutting the distance between them down to three feet. A blue vein showed at her temple, stark against her bright collar.

“Up,” Karen said.

Alicia did not blink behind her dark lenses.

“On your feet, Bennett,” Karen barked, tapping the metal edge against her hip. “We have an immediate inspection of unauthorized additions, and you will stand while I conduct it.”